Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dynamic sidebar”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “dynamic sidebar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Dynamic Copyright Year shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 763 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #1 2 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Ocean Custom Sidebar 20K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #22 ↓2 13 too low 10 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #23 ↓5 13 too low 11 Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Dynamic Year Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #17 18 Dynamic Product Gallery for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.1★ (37) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Dynamic Widget Content 300+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Discount Rules for WooCommerce – Disco | Dynamic Pricing, Conditions, Bulk, Bundle, BOGO 5K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too high 22 Dynamic Copyright Year 800+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Dynamic Cart Messages for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 5 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.